The present invention relates to aircraft engine gearboxes and more specifically to a housing for aircraft engine gearboxes that includes a polymeric composite material.
Aircraft components and aircraft engines require lightweight parts in order to be efficient. Conventionally, aircraft components are formed from metallic material such as aluminum and magnesium alloys. Substituting lighter-weight polymeric materials, such as thermoplastic or thermoset materials, for metallic materials in housings can result in lighter-weight and more efficient aircraft and aircraft components. In this regard, fiber reinforced composite polymeric materials can be used for some specialized applications that require a lighter-weight material.
One problem related to using conventional composite polymeric materials in the construction of aircraft engine gearbox housings is that they do not have suitable thermodynamic characteristics. Some gearboxes used in aircraft components must be configured for passive heat transfer in order to avoid overheating. In other words, heat must be conducted through the wall thickness of the gearbox housing from an interior surface to an exterior surface. The reinforcing fibers for conventional composite thermoplastic materials are generally not oriented to conduct heat in the desired direction even if they are thermally conductive. Instead they are generally oriented to provide the required strength and stiffness characteristics.